A colony for 50 years, federated , Unified to Ethiopia , in 1991's seceded after three decades of rebellion. Since 1998 Eritrea is at War, harboring proxy warriors especially the notorious Al- Shabab. Torture ,imprisonment , thousands fleeing, no religious freedom , the only university is closed, everybody is in the army, No Parliament, No election, No functioning institution, No free press & all living journalists are in prison. Eritrea is called the North Korea of Africa.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Associated Press reportedly fired a freelancer based in Ethiopia on grounds of false report. In a Facebook update, Eritrean Press reported that the Associated Press apologized in an e-mail sent to Eritrean Embassy in Washington. According to Eritrean Press, the e-mail partly reads as follows:

“we cherish the trust our readers place in us to provide an accurate and vivid account of the world. On this case, the article was false and created subsequent ill-informed and damaging coverage in other media outlets and across social media.”

Elias Meseret Taye (pictured above) reported, for the Associated Press, about defection of two Eritrean pilots with their military jets citing a certain Eritrean by the name Nasredin Ahmed Ali who was described by the reporter as “spokesman for the Ethiopia-based Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization.” In what seem to be an effort to place credence to the report, the freelancer included a story about two Ethiopian jets flying low in Mekelle for which a lecturer at Mekelle University, Abiy Chelkeba, was cited as an eye witness.

The Associated Press report, which is now proved to be false, was published on October 27 by major media outlets including the New York Times

Regime in Ethiopia, as was cited in the Associated Press report, didn’t comment about the defection but Henok Semagzier of Amharic service of Voice of America reported about “Eritrean pilots defection to Ethiopia” claiming “intelligence sources” , apparently from within in Ethiopian government. Borkena cautiously reported about VOA coverage yesterday. At this writing, VOA Amharic does not seem to issue statement to apologize about the false report.

It is not clear whether the Associated Press would follow up the matter to establish as to who else was involved the production of false report.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

"2 Eritrean Pilots Defect to Ethiopia With Jets, Group Says By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSOCT. 27, 2016, 6:06 A.M. E.D.T. Continue reading the main storyShare This Page Share Tweet Email More Save ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Two Eritrean pilots have defected with their fighter jets to neighboring Ethiopia, an Eritrean opposition group confirmed Thursday, in a dramatic exit from one of the world's most closed-off states. "The two pilots flew their small-sized fighter jets to Mekelle on Wednesday morning," Nasredin Ahmed Ali, spokesman for the Ethiopia-based Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization, told The Associated Press. The spokesman identified the pilots as Afeworki Fisehaye and Mebrahtu Tesfamariam and described them as being very experienced with Eritrea's air force. He said Ethiopian fighter jets accompanied them upon their entry into the country's air space. One witness, Abiy Chelkeba, a lecturer at Mekelle University, said Ethiopian jets were flying very low and conducting unusual turns in the northern city Wednesday morning. Local media also reported the defection. An Eritrean official based in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, said he was not aware of the defections. Ethiopia's government spokesman, Getachew Reda, declined to comment. This is the first time Eritrean pilots have defected to Ethiopia with their jets, but there have been reports of the East African country's pilots defecting to Saudi Arabia since 2012. Eritreans are one of the largest groups trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, with the U.N. saying more than 47,000 applied for asylum there in 2015. Eritrea's government has been under criticism for what a U.N. commission of inquiry has said are numerous abuses including enslavement, rape and torture. President Isaias Afwerki, in power since 1991, is described by rights groups as increasingly repressive in the country of about 6 million. Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a border war between 1998 and 2000 that killed tens of thousands of people. Border skirmishes occur often, and the two countries have not had diplomatic ties since 1998. Pilots have used their fighter jets to make high-profile defections in other parts of the world, notably during the Cold War. One North Korean pilot, No Kum Sok, left during a training mission in 1953 and landed at a U.S. military base in South Korea."

ADDIS ABABA— Two Eritrean pilots have defected with their fighter jets to neighboring Ethiopia, an Eritrean opposition group confirmed Thursday, in a dramatic exit from one of the world's most closed-off states.

The spokesman identified the pilots as Afeworki Fisehaye and Mebrahtu Tesfamariam and described them as being very experienced with Eritrea's air force. He said Ethiopian fighter jets accompanied them upon their entry into the country's air space.

One witness, Abiy Chelkeba, a lecturer at Mekelle University, said Ethiopian jets were flying very low and conducting unusual turns in the northern city Wednesday morning. Local media also reported the defection.

An Eritrean official based in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, said he was not aware of the defections. Ethiopia's government spokesman, Getachew Reda, declined to comment.

This is the first time Eritrean pilots have defected to Ethiopia with their jets, but there have been reports of the East African country's pilots defecting to Saudi Arabia since 2012.

Eritreans are one of the largest groups trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, with the U.N. saying more than 47,000 applied for asylum there in 2015.

Eritrea's government has been under criticism for what a U.N. commission of inquiry has said are numerous abuses including enslavement, rape and torture. President Isaias Afwerki, in power since 1991, is described by rights groups as increasingly repressive in the country of about 6 million.

Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a border war between 1998 and 2000 that killed tens of thousands of people. Border skirmishes occur often, and the two countries have not had diplomatic ties since 1998.

Pilots have used their fighter jets to make high-profile defections in other parts of the world, notably during the Cold War. One North Korean pilot, No Kum Sok, left during a training mission in 1953 and landed at a U.S. military base in South Korea.

An asylum seeker has been stabbed to death by a lynch mob of people traffickers near Calais after he tried to flee to reach the UK on his own, French authorities have revealed.

Mohamad Omar Eyman suffered fatal knife wounds late on Monday night when he returned to the squalid Norrent-Fontes camp.

Mr Eyman, 26, from Sudan, was set upon by a gang of 50 Eritrean migrants – described by a state prosecutor and a charity chief as people smugglers – when he returned to the make-shift collection of tents in France's Pas-de-Calais region after failing to reach the UK.

A friend who tried to defend Mr Eyman was also stabbed, but is believed to have survived.

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A Sudanese migrant who tried to flee a Calais camp near Calais for Britain was stabbed to death and 'lynched' by people traffickers when he returned. Pictured: Migrants in the Calais 'Jungle' camp, unrelated to Eyman's death

Mr Eyman was attacked by a gang of 50 Eritrean migrants, described as people smugglers whom he had argued with before leaving. Pictured: Riot police guarding a lorry on the A16 road heading into the Port of Calais ferry terminal

Migrants from Eritrea, Mali, Bangladesh and other countries wait to be rescued, off the coast of Libya. Eritreans are one of the largest groups to seek asylum in Britain every year. Photograph: Santi Palacios/APThe Home Office will alter its much-criticised policy on Eritrean asylum seekers, after a legal ruling found that the majority of those fleeing the country risk persecution or serious harm on returning.

Earlier this year, a report by MPs found hundreds of asylum applications from Eritreans are being incorrectly refused, owing to what was described as the government’s “unacceptable” policy on accepting refugees from the country. The July report by the home affairs select committee found that, in the first quarter of 2016, 86% of appeals by Eritrean asylum seekers were decided in their favour.An appalling human rights record, forced labour, indefinite compulsory military conscription and widespread use of torture has earned Eritrea the sobriquet “Africa’s North Korea”. Migrants from the one-party, closed state formed thelargest group of people applying for asylum in the UK last year. The UK received a total of 3,695 applications from Eritreans in 2015, approximately one-third of which (1,319) were granted.

In the judgment this month, the upper tribunal (immigration and asylum) issued a new country guidance case on Eritrea, which determined that Eritreans of or approaching the draft age of 18, who had evaded national service, deserted, or were likely to be suspected of doing so, faced a “real risk of persecution or serious harm” if sent back. The tribunal rejected the argument, set out in existing Home Office guidance, that Eritreans could return safely by signing a letter of apology and paying a “diaspora tax”.

The country guidance ruling, where the tribunal lays down the approach other judges should take, was welcomed by MPs, human rights groups and immigration lawyers.

Stuart McDonald, a member of the home affairs select committee, said he hoped it would force the government to correct its guidance on Eritrean asylum seekers. The delay in doing so was “inexcusable”, he said.

McDonald, the Scottish National party’s spokesman on asylum and immigration, said: “The determination is a welcome one. It’s just very frustrating that it has taken this to force the Home Office to get its house in order.”

The Refugee Council’s policy manager, Judith Dennis, said: “This ruling has confirmed that the government’s treatment of Eritreans who’ve sought refuge here is both dangerous and unjustifiable. It’s vital that the Home Office now focuses on protecting Eritreans who’ve fled here in fear of their lives rather than putting them at further risk.”

Colin Yeo, a barrister at Garden Court chambers who specialises in immigration, said: “It’s been a massively wasteful and rather political decision by the Home Office. It is not only wasteful of Home Office funds but tribunal funds and legal aid funds as well as really stressful for applicants.”

Elizabeth Chyrum, director of Human Rights Concern Eritrea, said: “In short, the tribunal decided that it could not rely on Home Office policy … and that other evidence, including that provided by the UN commission of inquiry, provided a much more accurate assessment of political conditions in Eritrea.”The upper tribunal case was brought on behalf of three Eritreans and centred around a heavily criticised report by the Danish Immigration Service, which was used to determine asylum applications in Denmark. The Home Office updated its country guidance for Eritrea in March 2015, based on the Danish report, advising that Eritreans are no longer at risk of persecution if they return home after leaving the country without official permission. The guidance is used by UK immigration officials to determine the legitimacy of asylum applications.

In its ruling, the tribunal appeared to suggest that not only would a letter of apology not establish a safe return, but that it could expose individuals to potential danger. Such a letter amounted to “a confession of guilt by the person who signs it”, stated the ruling, exposing returnees to what the regime might deem “appropriate punishment”.

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The tribunal said: “We do not accept that the evidence goes anywhere close to establishing the payment of tax and the signing of the letter would enable draft evaders and deserters to reconcile with the Eritrean authorities.”

Tasaddat Hussain, of Broadway House chambers, part of a legal team that represented two of the Eritreans in the case, said: “It appears that the outcome of the case is in line with what international opinion says: that nothing has changed in Eritrea.”

The ruling, which was seen by the Guardian, as well as those asked to comment on it, has now been removed from the upper tribunal’s website without explanation.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We have noted the court’s ruling and will be updating the country guidance accordingly.

“All country information and guidance is based on a careful and objective assessment of available evidence from a range of sources including media outlets, local, national and international organisations, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.”

Earlier this month, the Home Office removed country guidance on Eritrea from its website.

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About Me

Prof. Muse Tegegne has lectured sociology Change & Liberation in Europe, Africa and Americas. He has obtained Doctorat es Science from the University of Geneva. A PhD in Developmental Studies & ND in Natural Therapies. He wrote on the problematic of the Horn of Africa extensively. He Speaks Amharic, Tigergna, Hebrew, English, French. He has a good comprehension of Arabic, Spanish and Italian.